Homemade Chia Kombucha Recipe- A Refreshing, Fermented, Healing Drink

I'll be honest, I hadn't planned to write this post today- I had two other posts that I was working hard on writing- I wanted something other than a recipe, since it felt like my blog has been super recipe heavy and some people want other stuff, not just recipes...
But you know what happens... it's hot. It makes me grumpy. The kids took up a lot of my attention. And by the time I actually got down to finishing my blog post for today, I realized I didn't have the sitzfleisch or the headspace to actually finish the posts I'd started.
However, this morning I'd posted this picture on Facebook, of my yummy hibiscus spearmint green tea kombucha with chia seeds, and people were begging me to please share the recipe.

So here it is.

It really isn't such a big deal to make if you already know how to make kombucha.

If you don't know how to make kombucha, or even what kombucha is... well, let me backtrack for a second.


Kombucha is a fermented tea, made from fermented green or black tea, sugar, and what is called a kombucha mother, or a SCOBY- standing for a Symbiotic Culture of Bacteria and Yeast- which is a starter that you need to either get from a friend who makes kombucha, buy from a place that sells SCOBYs, or grow your own from a bottle of store bought kombucha. The beneficial, probiotic bacterias and yeasts in this kombucha mother will ferment the tea, and eat up the sugar, and make your drink filled with lots of beneficial goodies that help your immune system, detox your liver, and improve digestion.

So anyhow, to make this, you'll want to make your own kombucha. Follow these instructions to make your kombucha, and if you want, you can also make it into a secondary ferment to add additional flavors.
I didn't bother.
My original, first ferment was made with green tea with spearment, so the base flavor already was a little bit minty. I make my mason jars with 1/3 cup of sugar in each one- I find that gives it the perfect flavor- enough sugar so that when it ferments it turns tart enough to be able to taste, but doesn't taste too tart, or sweet because the sugar didn't ferment since I added too much (what happens when I use a 1/2 cup).
I mixed my kombucha- 2 1/2 cups of ready kombucha- with 1 1/2 cups of prepared unsweetened, hibiscus tea, so I had 4 total cups. You can use any flavor combination you want.
And guess what? If you just want this funky chia drink without actually having kombucha- feel free to just use unsweetened tea, sweetened tea, or even fruit juice. You take your pick.

And oh- wait- I'm getting ahead of myself.

Where did I even get the idea of putting chia seeds in kombucha?
Well, they sell it like that in the health food stores! When I was in the US 1 1/2 years ago, I bought a bottle of Synergy brand kombucha with chia seeds- I have no idea how they thought of combining the two together, but it works.
If you like chia seeds.
Because if you don't, I get it.
Since soaked chia seeds have the texture of... frog eggs.

Haha.

So drinking chia kombucha is kind of like drinking yummy pond water.

It really is delicious- I'm not kidding!
But the texture may be off putting.
Me? I happen to love it- it makes drinking this an experience, and seriously awesome.

So, how do you actually do it?

Ingredients:
4 cups kombucha tea, or a mix of kombucha and juice, tea, etc...
1/2-3/4 cup chia seeds

Instructions:
1. Mix your chia seeds with your kombucha. Mix it very well.

2. Let it sit for one minute, then mix again. Well.

3. Let it sit for 2 more minutes, then mix again. Well.

4. Let sit for 5 minutes, then mix well.

5. Let sit for 10 minutes, then mix well.

6. Chill, and drink.

P.S. You might wonder- why mix it soooo many times?
Well, because if you don't, you'll have a big mass of congealed chia seeds stuck together and not mixed in to your drink. You need to keep mixing it, as it is absorbing the liquid, so the texture stays nice and not hard and glumpy and gross.

So how much chia do you add? Add 1/2 cup if you want a loose kombucha tea, and 3/4 cup if you want the entire thing to be filled with chia seeds. If you use 1/2 cup chia seeds, mix it well before drinking so that it gets distributed evenly.

And yes, I know chia seeds can be expensive.
Luckily we just had a sale at a local store- chia seeds were about $1 per half pound bag. So I bought a ton.

Ever have kombucha before? Ever have things with chia seeds before? Ever had the two combined? If you've drink bought kombucha with chia seeds, what was your opinion of it? Had you thought of making your own?
What is your favorite flavor of kombucha?
Does this look like a recipe you'd try?